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2009 Smart fortwo | ||
| Price Range $11,990.00 - $16,990.00  | Fuel Economy 33 city / 41 highway Base Engine 70-horsepower L3 | Value Rating N/A |
| Anyone remember the Vanguard-Sebring CitiCar? This tiny, angular, two-seat battery electric car built in Florida from 1974-1977 looks as if it could have been the spiritual predecessor of the Smart (highly doubtful), and now Smart is poised to bring an electric version of its familiar Fortwo commuter car to our shores. Series production began in mid-November on the regular production line in Hambach France. This variant, unlike the 100 experimental first-gen e-Smarts, uses a 16.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that replaces the fuel tank below the seats and between the axles, out of harm's way and as low as possible. The rear-mounted 30 kW motor (40 hp) provides 89 lb-ft of torque. That's up by a third from the first-gen motor, which drew from a sodium-nickel-chloride battery that required heating to work. Lessons learned in the earlier electric Smart have driven development of this car, 1000 of which will be produced for lease during the second quarter of 2010 in selected European and U.S. cities prior to wider production beginning in 2012. |
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